Improvement in stencil-plates



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

JOHN T. WRIGHT AN OLIVER G. BRYANT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS; SAID WRIGHTASSIGNOR TO SAID BRYANT.

.- IMPRovEMENT IN sTi-:NiL-PLATES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l8,395, dated January16, 1877; application filed March 2 2, 1876. i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, J oHN T. WRIGHT and O. G. BRYANT, of Chicago, inthe county of Cook, andin the State of Illinois, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Stencil-Plates; and do hereby declare thefollowing' is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing, making a part of thisspecification, in which- Figure 1 is a `perspective view of our im'-proved stencil-plates before being combined. Fig. 2is a plan view of thesame with their interlocking edges just entering into engagement witheach other. Fig. 3 shows said plates as combined and in relativeposition for use, and Fig. 4t is a cross-section of the same.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each ofthe figures.

In the use of stencil-plates in which the letter-plates are combined byturning their edges backward, and causing said edges to engage with eachother, it is necessarythat said letter-plates should be united byplacing the lower end of the engaging-edge of one plate within the upperend of the engaging-edge of the contiguous plate, and then moving saidfirst plate downward until its upper and lower edgesare in line with thecorresponding portions of saidsecond plate.

The operation described requires considerable skill and patience, forthe reason that the engagingedges are made to fit closely together, andit is dificultto cause the end of oneA edge to exactly coincide with andenter the end of another edge.

To obviate this objection, and to increase the ease and facility withwhich the letterplates may be combined, is the design of our invention,which consists, as a new article of manufacture, in a stencil-platehaving one or both of its side edges turned backward, so as to enable itto engage with the corresponding edge of another plate, and having onecorner of such backward-turned portion cut away, substantially as andfor the purpose hereinafter specified.

plates, so as to form a word or words.

In the'annexed drawings, A represents a stencil-plate of any suitablesize, `which contains a letter or character, and is designed for use bycombining it with other similar One side edge, a, of the plateA isfolded backward upon the lower side, and the other edge,

a', is folded backward upon the upper side of n said plate, and therst-named edge is preferably raised, as shown in Fig. 4, so as to enableit to contain the edge a of another plate, and bring the lower faces ofsaid plates iush with each other.

As thus constructed, two plates, A and A,

are combined by causing the lower end of one engaging-edge, a, to engagewith the upper end of the edge a of the opposite plate, and thus movingsaid plates longitudinally until hey occupy the relative positions shownby ig. 3. f In order that the operation of engaging the edges of theplates may be rendered easy, the upper portion of each rearward-turuededge a is cut away obliquely, as shown in Figs. l and 2, by which meansthe upper face of its plate furnishes a guide in one direction for theedge a of the adjacent plate, while the oblique portion a of said edge aoperates as a lateral guide for said edge a, and enables the latter tobe easily and quickly placed in engagement with the former.

This improvement is more especially useful when the plates have becomegummed up by use, land their engaging-edges more or less filled withink.

Having thus fully set forth `the nature and merits of our invention,what weclaim is- `vA stencil-plate having the corner of its side edgeout away to facilitate connection with au adjoining plate, substantiallyas specified.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing we have hereunto set our handsthis 6th day of March, 1876.

JOHN T.v WRIGHT. OLIVER G. BRYANT. Witnesses:

G. A. PENDLETON, j E. J. SALISBURY.

